5 missing US Marines declared dead after plane crash off the coast of Japan

• The US Marine Corps called off its search for five missing Marines on Monday, after a F/A-18 Hornet fighter and C-130 Hercules cargo plane collided during a refueling exercise near Japan.
• The service members’ next-of-kin have been notified.
• The Marine Corps pointed to the missing KC-130’s flight data and cockpit voice recorders, and said it was “premature to speculate about wreckage recovery.”

The US Marine Corps called off its search for five missing Marines on Monday, after a F/A-18 Hornet fighter and C-130 Hercules cargo plane collided during a refueling exercise 200 miles off the coast of Japan on Thursday.

“I have made the determination to end the search and rescue operations for the crew of our KC-130J aircraft, which was involved in a mishap off the southern coast of Japan and to declare that these Marine warriors are deceased,” 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force commander Lt. Gen. Eric Smith said in a statement.

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